Hound: a novel - Softcover

McCaffrey, Vincent

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1931520259 ISBN 13: 9781931520256

Publisher: Small Beer Press, 2011

Synopsis

Selected as a Must-Read by the Massachusetts Book Awards.

"Ingenious and refreshingly irreverent, Hound is not only a mystery on many levels, but also an intelligent and often funny tour-de-force of the perils and follies of human relationships. McCaffrey has a gift for crafting quirky characters and original dialogue, and the path of our hero, Henry, is always wonderfully unpredictable. I came away from this 'book noir' with a sense of catharsis, but also with a sudden desire to reread and rethink all the great classics to which McCaffrey alludes in his terrific novel."—Anne Fortier, author of Juliet

"As much about books—and love and knowledge and family—as about murder, Hound is the first in McCaffrey's projected trilogy, and book lovers will eagerly await Henry's next outing."—Richmond Times-Dispatch

"McCaffrey, the owner of Boston's legendary Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop, succeeds in conveying his love of books in his intriguing debut."—Publishers Weekly

Hound is the first of three novels featuring bookhound Henry Sullivan. When an ex-lover is murdered, he mounts an unofficial investigation into her death that leads him through the murky depths of both Boston's literary world and his own past.

Vincent McCaffrey has owned the Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop for more than thirty years. He has been paid to do lawn work, shovel snow, paint houses, and to be an office-boy, warehouse grunt, dishwasher, waiter, and hotel night clerk. He has chosen at various times to be a writer, editor, publisher, and bookseller. Hound is his first novel.

About this title

About the Author:

Vincent McCaffrey has owned and operated the Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop for more than thirty years, first in Boston, and now online from Abingdon, MA. Hound is his first novel.

From Publishers Weekly:

McCaffrey, the owner of Boston's legendary Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop, succeeds in conveying his love of books in his intriguing debut. Boston bibliophile Henry Sullivan, who leads a lonely life in pursuit of rare books, attracts police attention after the strangulation murder of Morgan Johnson, the widow of a renowned literary agent—and Sullivan's former lover. Not long before, Morgan retained Sullivan to appraise her late husband's book collection that she was planning to donate to Boston University. Johnson's husband's relatives, each with a financial motive to have done her in, make up the small circle of logical suspects. Meanwhile, the reappearance of an old girlfriend forces Sullivan to consider another missed opportunity at happiness. Indeed, the crime-solving remains secondary to the author's sensitive portrayal of his middle-aged protagonist's search for meaning, suggesting this novel could've worked as well as straight fiction without the whodunit plot. (Sept.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Small Beer Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1931520259
• ISBN 13: 9781931520256
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 280